Archbishop of Canterbury Rescinds Interfaith Award from Pakistani Cleric Over Past Praise for Osama Bin Laden

The Archbishop of Canterbury has officially revoked a prestigious interfaith recognition previously granted to Pakistani Muslim cleric Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, following widespread public outcry over his historical praise for the late al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

The decision comes after Lambeth Palace faced intense scrutiny for honouring Ashrafi with the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation. The ecclesiastical commendation was presented in London by the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally during the Lambeth Awards ceremony.

The awarding ceremony took place last week, coincidentally falling on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Those attacks, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people, were masterminded by Bin Laden, making the recognition particularly contentious among observers and religious critics.

When initially announcing the distinction, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s office had lauded the cleric for his prominent standing in South Asia. Officials commended his outstanding work as an ambassador of interfaith harmony in Pakistan, describing him as a religious figure noted for an enduring commitment to fostering interreligious tolerance.

However, the honour quickly unraveled as historic remarks made by Ashrafi in 2007 resurfaced. In those recorded statements, the Pakistani cleric openly praised Bin Laden, describing the global terrorist leader as an individual who had spent his life fighting on behalf of Islam against British, American, and Russian forces.

The controversy was further intensified by reports that Ashrafi had suggested awarding Bin Laden the honorific title of "Saifullah," an Arabic term meaning the "Sword of God." The resurfacing of these statements provoked immediate outrage across the international community and prompted calls for the Church of England to act.

In an interview with the BBC addressing the controversy, Ashrafi rejected the accusations, arguing that his past remarks had been totally taken out of context. He described the mounting criticism as an unfair and deliberate campaign orchestrated to undermine his standing as a mediator and dialogue advocate.

Ashrafi explained that his 2007 declarations were made exclusively in response to the deep anger and hurt felt by many Muslims at the time regarding the decision of the British Crown to bestow a knighthood upon Sir Salman Rushdie, the author of the controversial novel *The Satanic Verses*.

Even while defending his record, the cleric continued to stand by the comparison he had established between a prominent literary author and a militant figure who orchestrated the deaths of thousands of innocent people, an equivalence that continued to draw strong condemnation.

The public backlash against Ashrafi extended beyond his historical comments about al-Qaeda's former leader. Questions were also raised regarding the rationale provided by Lambeth Palace when it first decided to celebrate his contribution to interfaith harmony.

In making the case for his award, Church of England representatives had pointed to Ashrafi’s high-profile intervention in 2012 involving Rimsha Masih. Masih, a young Pakistani Christian girl, had been falsely accused of blasphemy, and the cleric’s public involvement at the time was widely viewed as a crucial step in de-escalating a dangerous situation.

Nevertheless, Ashrafi’s broader posture toward Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes has long been a subject of severe contention. Aside from isolated interventions such as the Masih case, the cleric has remained a vocal and consistent proponent of the nation’s strict blasphemy legal framework.

Since the late 1980s, an estimated 2,000 individuals have faced formal prosecution under these blasphemy laws. Data shows that the legal provisions have fallen disproportionately on vulnerable minority populations within Pakistan, particularly Ahmadis and Christians, while also impacting a significant number of majority Sunni Muslims.

Ashrafi has defended the controversial measures by asserting that blasphemy legislation effectively saves human lives. In his view, the existence and enforcement of formal state laws prevent angry mobs and vigilantes from taking matters into their own hands and executing summary street justice against the accused.

That interpretation stands in sharp contrast to the conclusions reached by international watchdogs. Human Rights Watch stated last year that Pakistan’s blasphemy laws actively perpetuate institutional discrimination against religious minorities, often being exploited to conduct unlawful evictions and orchestrate land grabs against impoverished communities.

Human Rights Watch has consequently called on the Pakistani government to enact urgent reforms to prevent the statutes from being weaponised against marginalised segments of society. The Lambeth Palace decision to strip the cleric of his honour highlights the deep reputational risks facing religious institutions when vetting international figures for prominent peace awards.